NYC Council Takes Action Against Arizona For Legislative Bigotry

California and various cities within were a few of the first government entities to condemn Arizona for the highly controversial SB1070. In the few weeks since the racial profiling law passed, the outrage against the bill has been fierce across the nation and even the world.

Meanwhile, supporters contend that this is in response to rising crime (not true) and that racism has nothing to do with the legislation (if so, explain this other racist legislation Arizona passed). Regardless of Arizona's claims of innocence, Americans outside the Copper State realize the totalitarian and apartheid-like movement within and are rapidly creating distance between those that value immigrants and those that do not. Thankfully that will now include the mecca of America's immigrants, New York City.

From WNBC:

The City Council announced a resolution Wednesday calling for a boycott of the state of Arizona--a reaction to the recent law that allows police officers the right to ask residents to provide immigration documentation.

Two major potential targets for the boycott include U.S. Airways, which is based in Arizona, and Major League Baseball, which is holding its 2011 All-Star Game in Arizona.

The move was introduced by Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez and co-sponsored by Council Members Margaret Chin, daniel Dromm, Robert Jackson, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Rosie Mendez, Jumaane Williams, and the Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio.

If Arizona wants to (further) marginalize an entire ethnicity within their state, they will pay a heavy price for it and now New York City has placed itself on the right side of this debate. Hopefully this will continue to propel the movement against Arizona and their legislature, putting an increasing load of economic pressure and shame until they realize just how wrong that bill was.

AZ Racial Profiling Law's Beginnings Exposed

Proponents of the controversial Arizona law SB1070 (PDF file) mention that lawmakers are trying to battle crime and that there's nothing really that bad in what they passed. However, as the public outcry increases in both private and public venues, the ugly, but not surprising truth is coming out about where this monstrosity came from. Rachel has the details:



Crooks and Liars has more on the connection between State Senator Russell Pearce and his neo-nazi friends. And Greg Palast wonders if this might just be a good old-fashioned GOP voter suppression technique. It's kinda like AZ's Prop 200 2.0.

NY Post Fires Reporter After Being Targeted By NYPD

Freelance reporter Leonardo Blair has a lot going for him. Born in Jamaica, Mr. Blair made it to New York and has a Master's degree in Journalism from Columbia and was worked freelance for the NY Post. Then he was picked up by the NYPD and temporarily thrown in jail for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and for the color of his skin. They let him go after he told them he was a reporter, but that wasn't the end of it.

From The NY Daily News:

Leonardo Blair, 28, a freelance crime reporter since May 2007, was let go just days after he slammed the NYPD in a federal suit filed on his behalf by the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Blair's suit came on the same day the Post defended the Police Department's controversial stop-and-frisk policy in an editorial.

"The Post won't have any comment," said the newspaper's spokesman Howard Rubenstein.

Blair refused to comment when reached Sunday night.

The Jamaican-born reporter was let go, in part, because the paper's editors were caught off guard by the suit he filed May 7, sources told the Daily News.

"Caught off guard" sounds a lot like they were pissed that Blair decided to fight for his rights to be treated equally under the law. The first hand account he wrote for them helped to sell papers, but taking the NYPD to court seems to be another matter for the brass at the Post. Now Mr. Blair and the Post won't comment, so the full story is going to have a tough time in coming out to see the light of day.

One thing is for certain though, if Blair were white, there wouldn't be a story to report.

Isn't This Illegal?

Racial profiling is generally seen by civilized society as a no-no but not so much by the nation's police forces. True to form, the LAPD's "strategy" of documenting the Muslim communities of Los Angeles is sparking outrage while the LAPD Deputy Chief Michael P. Downing sees it as finding terrorist cells. I'm sorry Mr. Downing, but this sh*t just ain't gonna work.

From The Huffington Post:

The LAPD's counterterrorism bureau plans to identify Muslim enclaves in order to determine which might be likely to become isolated and susceptible to "violent, ideologically based extremism," said Deputy Chief Michael P. Downing on Thursday.

"We want to know where the Pakistanis, Iranians and Chechens are so we can reach out to those communities," said Downing, who heads the counterterrorism bureau.

(snip)

On Thursday, several Muslim groups and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California sent Downing a letter expressing "grave concerns" about the program.

"Singling out individuals for investigation, surveillance, and data-gathering based on their religion constitutes religious profiling that is just as unlawful, ill-advised and deeply offensive as racial profiling," said the letter.

It is unlawful, it is ill-advised and extremely offensive, not to only Muslims but society as a whole. Mr. Downing and the rest of the LAPD should be shamed out of trying to put this into practice, unless they have already started of course. You know, this wouldn't be the first time for the Los Angeles Police Department.

America Rocks!

Watch out for those dark-skinned people when the terror alert goes up, and if you happen to have a complexion that isn't WASPY white, make sure to have your American flag stickers handy!